Susan Crawford on Telecommunications Deregulation
Susan Crawford comments on deregulation of the telecom industry:
- 'Radicalized' ex-Obama adviser blasts deregulation of telecom. By Andrew Feinberg, The Hill (05/21/12) She said telephone service had long been considered, along with water and electricity, to be among the utilities that were extended to all based on a "collective responsibility" to ensure that everyone receives the benefits of modern society. Crawford said that "basic network" of services should now include Internet access, but argued deregulation is undermining that goal by creating a consolidation in the cable and wireless industries that will limit choice and make it harder for people to afford services. One-third of people in the United States still lack Internet access, Crawford said, which will hurt competitiveness at home and abroad.
Google Docs: Insert Footnotes Easily With New “Research” Feature
Google introduced a new features to Google Docs, its cloud-based word processor, recently. It allows you to quickly do a google search on a word or phrase that you highlight in a document you are editing and then insert a footnote to a web page you find. Here is what a footnote to an item in FDSys looks like:
1. "Deep Water: The Gulf Oil Disaster And The Future Of Offshore ..." 2011. 22 May. 2012 <http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/GPO-OILCOMMISSION/content-detail.html>And here is a cite to the same item in WorldCat:
2. "Deep water : the Gulf oil disaster and the future of offshore drilling ..." 2011. 22 May. 2012 <http://www.worldcat.org/title/deep-water-the-gulf-oil-disaster-and-the-future-of-offshore-drilling-report-to-the-president/oclc/696156233>The Chronicle has an article about the new google feature here:
- Google Docs Research Tool: A Review, By Prof. Hacker, The Chronicle of Higher Education (May 21, 2012).
GPO makes eBooks available in partnership with Google’s eBookstore, OverDrive, Ingram, Zinio, and other online vendors.That's right: you can buy an ebook or download a PDF from FDsys for free. I'm not sure who is getting the worse deal: the vendors or the public... Continue reading
What’s hot in government documents? Library Journal publishes 2011 Notable government documents
Library Journal has just published their annual list of Notable Government documents, "Notable Government Documents 2011: Past as Prologue". This list of notable Federal, State, Local and International documents -- put together each year by ALA's Government Documents Round Table -- is a collaborative effort by the documents community to promote awareness and acquisition of government publications by libraries and use by library patrons. The list highlights the depth and breadth of the work of our governments. Check them out -- and make sure your library has them in their collections! Continue reading
State Agency Databases Activity Report 5/20/2012
Work has slowed but continues at the State Agency Databases Across the Fifty States project at http://wikis.ala.org/godort/index.php/State_Agency_Databases. For a full picture of activity over the past two weeks, visit http://tinyurl.com/statedbs14d. Here are some highlights: DATABASES ADDED HEALTHCARE PRACTIONER DATABASES (Lynn McClelland) Arkansas State Board of Massage Therapists - Search by name; name may be in any order. ALASKA (Daniel Cornwall) Alaska & Polar Periodical Index - Index to journals, magazines and newsletters relating to Alaska and the Earth's polar regions. Coverage goes back decades. Results show availability in University of Alaska Fairbanks Rassmuson Library, but many articles are available elsewhere or through interlibrary loan. MICHIGAN (Michael McDonnell) Groundwater Information Database - This resource was mandated by Public Act 148 of 2003, which requires that a groundwater inventory and map be generated for the state. It is a joint effort of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Michigan State University's Institute of Water Research and the United States Geological Survey. WYOMING (Karen Kitchens) Child Care Facilities/Contacts Locator -Locate Child Care Facilities, Child Care Finder Offices, Child Care Licensing Offices, Child Care Licensers, Child Care Supervisors and Department of Family Services Offices within Wyoming. Continue reading
COSSA on American Community Survey and NSF Support of Political Science
The Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA) has a report on the House bill that would cut NSF funding for political science and eliminate the American Community Survey:
- House Passes CJS Spending Bill: Amendments Eliminate NSF Political Science Program and American Community Survey, Washington Update Volume 31, Issue 9, COSSA (May 14, 2012).